Episode 1
is the season premiere of Survivor: The Okanagan. Story Day 1 Introduction Jeff: The Canadian wilderness. Home to some of nature's most beautiful landscapes. (shots of scenic panoramas of snow-topped mountains, evergreen forests, and pristine clear-blue rivers) Jeff: However, it can also be host to Mother Nature's most devastating forces. (shots of thunderstorms, blizzards, grizzlies, and wolves) Jeff: It is here, in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, where 16 everyday Americans will battle it out for the 1 million dollar grand prize and the title of Sole Survivor. 39 days, 16 castaways, 1 survivor! Beyond the mountains, two speedboats are steadily making their way through the Lake Okanagan, each carrying eight castaways. Numerous shots of each of the castaways are shown, some eagerly excited for their once in a lifetime adventure to begin, others anxious to see what kind of punishingly trial of strength and wit awaits. One person, however, remains stoic and emotionless in the face of what will be an arduous 39 days. Next to him on the boat sits a young blonde-haired woman. Trying her best to keep water from splashing onto her face, she weaves her fingers through her flowing hair and looks straight ahead. Across the water on the other boat are the eight other castaways also vying for the grand prize. Upfront and center is a young man sporting a gray tank top which is doing a poor job at covering up several tattoos scattered across his torso and upper body. From the back end of the boat sits another blond-haired man. He excitedly taps his feet as the speedboat crashes along the surface of the lake, bobbing up and down. With a big grin on his face, he's full of energy and too pumped up to sit still. The two speedboats start coming closer together as they begin slowing down. Eventually, they arrive at the lakeshore and once the boats are at a complete stop, everyone begins to get off. Jeff, wearing his trademark attire, greets the castaways as they gather in front of him. He flashes a smile which displays his famous dimples and welcomes the cast of Survivor: Okanagan. Jeff: Welcome to Survivor! (everyone cheers loudly) Jeff: You in front, with the purple hair. (he points at a woman) What's your name? Alinah: I'm.. Alinah.. (she says nervously) Jeff: Alinah, has it finally hit you that you're out here? That you're here playing Survivor? Alinah: I still can't frickin' believe it Jeff. (everyone laughs) I have to keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. Jeff: Well I can tell you that you're not dreaming. It's actually happening. Jeff: Now you towards the back, wearing the yellow jacket, what's your name? (he gestures towards a tall man standing in the back) Parker: The name's Parker. Jeff: Now Parker, I gotta assume that you, just like everyone here, is a fan of this show to some extent. Am I right in saying that? Parker: I mean, what the fuck you doin' here if you ain't. (he cracks a laugh) Jeff: Fair enough! (he admits) But with all of you guys being fans of the show, it'd be devastating to go out due to a simple mistake that could have been avoided, right? Knowing that you should have zigged instead of zagged. (he pauses) Well, it'd be nice to have the foresight or even a second opinion behind some of the choices you make in this game. (he pauses again) Parker: Yeah, I guess that'd be good. Jeff: Well, that's where they come in. (he looks at something up in the sky) In the far distance, two helicopters appear coming out of the mountains. As they get closer and closer, the castaways back at the lakeshore get more and more nervous. Many different reactions line the rows of players, all thinking they're going to be joined by castaways who've played the game before. Some are upset, some are angry, some are annoyed, but not one happy face in the crowd. Jeff: But before you get out your pitchforks, let me let you in on one key piece of information. (everyone suddenly quiets down) These four past players aren't coming in to play against you. In a sense, they're actually here to play for you. That's because this season, they're going to fulfill the roles of "coaches". (multiple gasps are heard) More information to be revealed shortly. Inside one of the helicopters making their way towards Jeff and the rest of the cast are some familiar faces. The first one the camera focuses in on is none other than Cydney Gillon from Survivor: Kaôh Rōng. Sitting right next to Cydney and smiling right at her is one of the best players to never win, Domenick Abbate from Survivor: Ghost Island. Over on the other helicopter, sit the remaining two castaways-turned-coaches. The first shot is of Chrissy Hofbeck from Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers who graces the camera with a beautiful and self assuring smile. Last but not least, the shot slowly pans onto the last returning coach. Jon Misch from Survivor: San Juan Del Sur is back and is ready to show everyone what he's made of. Both helicopters finally reach the lake and land in a clearing somewhat close to where Jeff and the others are standing. With gust blowing everywhere, one by one they each exit the helicopter and run towards Jeff. The rest of the castaways, now knowing that they won't have to compete with them, cheer as they make their way, but are still confused as to what exactly is going on. Jeff: Welcome back. (he greets the four veterans) So as you all know, they're not here to play the game of Survivor against you. We're mixing it up this season and they'll be serving as coaches. "How does that work?" you may be asking yourself. Well each of you will be assigned to one of them. You, along with three other people, will form a team with that player as their coach. (gasps can be heard) Their job is simple, just make sure one of their team members ends up winning. So you know they have your best interest in mind, 'cause if you win, they win $250,000. (all four coaches smile in unison as Jeff says that) Alfie: So they are just going to give us advice? Is that it? (he questions) Jeff: Glad you brought it up. Cydney, Domenick, Chrissy, and Jon will get to compete in their own challenge, the Coaches Challenge, every round to win some pretty useful advantages and rewards which could really help out their team. (Chrissy is not a fan of hearing that) Jeff: And I hope you guys are ready because your first Coaches Challenge of the season will be starting right now. (he points over to a challenge station set up in the distance) Coaches Challenge The four coaches prepare themselves at their stations while the sixteen castaways sit on some nearby benches. The season has just started and a challenge is already underway. Once each coach is ready, Jeff lets them know what's at stake. He hold up a message in a bottle. Jeff then lets out his signature "Survivors ready? Go!" Coaches Challenge: Simmotion With one hand tied behind their back, each castaway must drop a ball into a metal chute. The ball will travel down a spiraling metal track and exit out of one of two points. The castaway must catch the ball and drop it back into the chute at the top. At designated intervals, an additional ball will be added to the track until eight balls are simultaneously in play. If a ball exits the track and is not caught at any time, the castaway is eliminated from the challenge. The last person standing wins. After an intense showdown that comes down between Jon and Domenick, Jon ends up with the first Coaches Challenge victory of the season. Jeff: Congrats on a hard fought win. Open this up in front of everybody and read it out loud. (he tosses Jon the aforementioned message in a bottle) Jon: "As the victor of the first Coaches Challenge, you now have the ability to influence the way teams will be selected. In a snake-style schoolyard pick'em, you have the privilege of choosing the draft order." ..Oh man. (he laughs) Jon takes a moment to think about his decision. He glances over at the sixteen castaways eagerly awaiting his decision and then back to his fellow coaches. Jon: So I think it's going to be me, Chrissy, then Domenick and finally Cydney. (Cydney stares daggers at Jon) Jeff: Alright, let's get this thing going! Jon, you get the overall first pick, chose wisely. Jon: The guy with the tats. (he points at Logan who's shocked to be picked first) Chrissy: I'll go with the guy with the cool looking scar. (she gestures over to Tyson) Tyson goes over to stand behind his new coach. Chrissy goes for a hug but it met with a handshake instead, already starting off their relationship on a strong note. Jeff: Domenick, you're up. Domenick: I think me and blondie over there are gonna have lots of fun. (he points over to Julian who excitedly runs over) Cydney: I guess that leaves me. (she examines the remaining 13 players) I get the next two picks, right? Jeff: Yup! Cydney: Give me tall, dark and handsome over in the back as well as Mr. Cowboy (she selects both Parker and Cole) Parker and Cole both line up behind Cydney as Domenick gets ready to pick the second member of his team. Domenick: I'll take the beauty up front! (he points at Gabriella) I might be wrong but I sense a Long Island connection with this one. Gabriella happily joins both Domenick and Julian. Julian attempts to high five her, but she's too distracted by Domenick to notice. Jeff gestures over to Chrissy to make her next pick. Chrissy: I'll take the sweet lady up towards the front in the glasses. (she points in Selene's direction) Jeff: Jon, you can now make your first of two picks. Jon: You with the cool, purple hair! (he pulls out the good ol' finger guns as he points over to Alinah) Jeff: Ok, before Jon makes his other pick, let's see how the teams look like so far. John with Logan and Alinah. Chrissy with Tyson and Selene. Domenick with Julian and Gabriella. And Cydney with Parker and Cole. Jeff: Alright Jon, start off the next round. Who's the next lucky member of Team Jon? Jon: I'll take Mr. Olympia over there! (he points over to Terrence who flexes to reveal his guns) Chrissy: Give the sweetie with the blonde hair and green tank top. (she points at Jasmin who breathes a sign of relief at finally being picked) Domenick: I'll take the cutie in the panda hat. (he points over at Jai LI who begins to blush) Both women line up behind their respective coaches, leaving only five other people left without a coach. Jeff: Alright Cydney, you can round out your team with these next two picks. Cydney: We need some estrogen up in here, give me these two pretty mamas! Cydney goes over and grabs both Olive and Melinda by the hand and brings them over to where the rest of her team stands. Cydney: Y'all can go home now cause the winner is standing right here! (she snides at the rest of the coaches) Domenick: Don't count your chicks before they hatch. Cause we got the winner right here! (he chooses his last team member as he points to Alfie) Alfie is rather annoyed at the comment but is at least relieved he wasn't picked last. He walks over and joins the rest of Team Domenick. That leaves just two people left, West and Velma. Jeff: Chrissy, with this last pick you are not only choosing who you want to complete your team, but are also deciding who Jon gets left with. So will it be West or Velma?(he tries to say without being patronizing) Chrissy takes a good long look at both Velma and West. After thinking for a bit, she eventually makes her decision. Chrissy: I'm so sorry West, but I'm going to have to go with Velma, I just see a lot of myself in her. Velma rubs West's back and goes over to her team. That leaves West as the last person remaining and is automatically placed in Jon's team. A dejected West walks over to his team who all try to cheer him up. Jeff: So let's see how these teams turned out! On Jon's team we have Logan, Alinah, West, and Terrence. On Chrissy's we have Tyson, Selene, Jasmin, and Velma. On Team Domenick we have Julian, Gabriella, Jai Li, and Alfie. And finally, on Cydney's team we have Parker, Cole, Olive, and Melinda. Jeff: Oh, and before you all get too acquainted with your team, there's one more thing. (he says with an evil grin) These teams won't be your starting tribes. The tribes were preselected long before the schoolyard pick. Everyone is shocked while all four coaches are nervous about how their teams will be distributed between the tribes. Jeff: If I call your name stand to my left. Alfie, Cole, Gabriella, Jasmin, Logan, Melinda, Olive, and Parker. You guys will be the green tribe, Kelowna. The eight members of the new Kelowna tribe assemble together and Jeff hands them a bag of green-colored buffs. The most obvious takeaway from this tribe is how all of Cydney's team members managed to stay together, which everyone seems to take notice of right away. Jeff: That leaves the rest of you as members of the yellow tribe, Nkwala. The eight remaining castaways assemble to Jeff's right and he then gives them a bag of yellow-colored buffs. This tribe's composition is much more even than the other. Jeff: Now there's just two more matters to attend to before you all officially start your adventure of a lifetime. Kelowna, your camp is situated on the east side of the lake, while Nkwala's camp is on the west side. Coaches, you are freely able to move between camps. To do so, you're going to have to get your rowin' on. (he points towards a set of canoes docked at both lake shores) Cydney: Nuh uh Jeff, you can't be serious. (she pleads) Jeff: I'm serious alright. So make sure you're spending enough time at one tribe's camp before you head on over to the other. One last thing. Jon, as an extra reward for winning the coaches challenge, you are able to give one of your players immunity the next time they go to tribal council. So who's it gonna be? Jon: Wow, thanks for putting me on the spot there Jeff. he nervously laughs and looks at his team Let's give this one to West. Jeff: Alright, there you have it. Head off to your respective camps and let the game begin. Kelowna Tribe Nkwala Tribe Day 2 Nkwala Tribe Kelowna Tribe Immunity Challenge Nkwala Tribe Day 3 Nkwala Tribe Tribal Council Tribal Council Still In The Running Next Time On Survivor... Author's Notes